


Amidst a Bamboo Forest (Set The Phoenix Free)

by Gothams_Only_Wolf



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternative Universe - Imperial Court, Concubine!Cloud, Consort!Zack, Emperor!Sephiroth, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-07-08 05:33:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19864318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gothams_Only_Wolf/pseuds/Gothams_Only_Wolf
Summary: Zack has had some truly wild hairs but this takes the Emperor's favorite cake.





	Amidst a Bamboo Forest (Set The Phoenix Free)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WaifuJuju](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WaifuJuju/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I 10,000% am not sure wtf I'm doing but it's here so, uh, enjoy? 
> 
> Also, happy birthday to a true darling, waifujuju! 
> 
> The prompt was: 
> 
> fake relationship but its a king and his concubine that was once an amazing soldier   
> but he couldn't go up the ranks for whatever reason so the king was like listen. hear me out. you can be my strategy dude. u just gotta be okay w walking around shirtless a lot. and soldier dude is like man that's an UPSIDE and yknow they end up falling in love 
> 
> some idiot advisor: I can't believe his majesty lets his boytoy attend these council meetings, it's an insult to the noble institutions that uphold our nation, it's an outrage 
> 
> a somewhat smarter advisor: you're just mad bc he pointed out how dumb your naval attack strategy is and no one laughed when you made a mean joke about him 

* * *

Zack tucked two wisteria (one white, one purple) into Cloud's side bun, the flowers not detracting from the fact that Cloud was wearing the fanciest robe he'd ever laid eyes on. 

"Zack, it's not going to work—" he protested as Zack gently, patiently painted wings of eyeliner onto his eyes. 

"Do you trust me?" 

"Somehow, by a miracle of Fenrir, I do." He snarked, eyes still closed, "That doesn't make me concubine-worthy, you idiot." 

"Wait until Aerith and I get through with you, mister, you're gonna be the prettiest concubine in all of the Western Provinces." 

* * *

Color Cloud highly impressed and terrified of Zack's fellow Imperial servant. They'd taken him and well, they'd done something to make him more than he was normally. 

Twin slashes of bright green that mimicked the Emperor's eyes were brushing his cheekbones, making him more yokai than human, especially combined with the ridiculous robe and pants under it in a rich purple that brought the green to light. 

"I'm still going up _against the most beautiful people in the entire empire_ , Zack, or did you forget that bit?! The chances of him picking me are so fucking slim I might as well start working as a weapon smith. At least there I know what the hell I'm doing-" 

"Relax, Seph's looking for a lot of qualities in his companions, not just being pretty. Though, I gotta say, you're gonna be pretty hard to beat." 

"Sure, Zack." The robe slipped, displaying the reason he was even attempting this madness right now; the scar of the sword he's dived in front of to protect the Emperor. It went all the way through the back, ugly and long enough that he couldn't hold a full weight sword without his arm shaking. "I'm _ravishing_." 

The one that had the Infantry physician shaking her head and telling him that he would never hold a blade again. Never get into SOLDIER, all because he'd done what was right instead of letting his Emperor get skewered by an enemy blade. 

"That's a sexy scar and he totally remembers that move you pulled when literally none of us knew what that asshole was about to stab him." Zack fired back at Cloud's sarcasm as he got into his own outfit. 

It was damn near shirtless for the sheerness of the overcoat, paired with an obnoxious belt that might've resembled a SOLDIER stomacher at one point but was embroidered with the Emperor's favorite flower, the yellow and white lilies only pointing out how healthy Zack was. The pants, which apparently drove the court nuts, were Zack's old SOLDIER gear. 

He wasn't ready for any of it but the Emperor waited for no one, not even his favorite Consort. 

* * *

Cloud was shuffled into a room with the other potentials and he immediately sought a higher perch, climbing up the column to heft himself above the crowd. 

One-by-one, each of the concubines left the room and returned dejected, their makeup smeared due to their tears. 

"Those of the Province Nibelheim, come forth." Cloud dropped down, grumbled as the left shoulder slipped and displayed his scar. He shoved the robe back up impatiently, rose a brow at the dropped jaw of the summoner and adjusted so that the robe draped properly. 

"His Imperial Majesty requests that you answer three questions. Do you accept?" The summoner inquired coldly. 

"This one would accept the questions." Cloud managed through sheer rote, kneeling on the floor. 

"Would he die for His Imperial Majesty?" The rich voice wasn't what he expected but he rolled with it. 

"Without question. It is this one's honor to defend that which Heaven has bestowed upon us." He answered honestly. "This one has already done so, much to the enemy's displeasure." 

"Is there proof of this, he of Nibelheim?" 

"This one would be glad to show it, but this one's form belongs not to him but to His Imperial Majesty." Cloud countered, tugging at the robe to make sure the scar was covered. 

"One final question, he of Nibelheim;" Cloud watched as familiar black boots entered his field of bowed vision and a waterfall of silver spilled over a robe bordered by Phoenix Downs. "would he look his Imperial Majesty in the eyes without fear?" 

Cloud's head snapped up of his own volition, slit green framed by lashes longer than his own. "He would, His Imperial Majesty, and remark that Consort Fair speaks much truth." 

The coral lips tilted into a rare smile, "Consort Fair is also a liar, most certainly, for he swore out out of all the candidates, there was one who's beauty would shine bright. You are no beauty." 

Cloud shrugged with a wry half-smile of his own. "This one apologizes; Consort Fair exaggerates much." 

The Emperor knelt, took Cloud's chin in his gloved hand and leaned in close. "No need to apologize, for he did not bring me mere beauty. No, far greater, he brought me loyalty and a creature so lovely as to shame even the moon for shining." 

Cloud flushed, still caught in the grip of his Emperor, and murmured, "He would not not deny loyalty, Imperial Majesty, nor his Emperor's words but laments that he is only a soldier. He does not know what to do with such praise, welcome though it is." 

"What is the name of such a humble soldier?" The Emperor scooted closer, dismissing everyone in the room with a flick of his hand and releasing Cloud's chin. 

Only after they all had filed out did he dare to speak. "It's Cloud, Imperial Majesty, Cloud Strife-Oof!" 

"Thank you for saving my life." The Emperor breathed out against his shoulder, the opposite of the scarred one. "May I see the wound? I would set it right, if at all possible." 

Cloud shuffled so that the edge of the robe wasn't caught between them and revealed the scar, still a deep pink and tender. "The Infantry physician told him that it would never heal enough for him to hold a sword-" 

"Dispense with the formalities, please. They never sat well with me and doubly so for people who chose this route to advance without recourse into other avenues. For you, it's Sephiroth." Cloud was aware of his eyes going big and his jaw just barely held from dropping. "I also see that Zack forgot to tell you of the real rules for my "concubines"; I love the man but he's a fool at the worst of times." 

"Umm..." He closed his eyes, breathed in, rolled his shoulders and then opened them to still see the Emperor looking at him in earnest worry. "Should I still use your titles in public places?" 

The Emperor's-no, _Sephiroth's_ -face changed to pleased surprise. "Yes, Cloud, you should. Oh, Zack will never live this down. He fainted on me, you see, and swore you would do the same." 

"Zack's also got the attention span of a puppy unless it comes to strategy and being friends, so honestly, a pretty tame reaction on his part." Cloud pointed out, slapping a hand over his mouth at the tone he'd taken _with his Emperor_. He was going to **die** , he _knew_ it— By Fenrir's fangs, why hadn't he warned Cloud?! 

He vehemently swore to come back and haunt Zack's ass for good measure. 

The sight of the Emperor throwing his head back and laughing made Cloud's pulse quicken in fear. 

"Ahahaha, oh, oh gods above. Zack really never _is_ going to live this down. Your face was too good. Are you alright?" 

"I think I need to murder your Consort," Cloud blurted, "for not warning me that you have a sense of humor, Your Majesty." 

"Sephiroth." Sephiroth corrected gently, gently pressing his forehead to Cloud's as he murmured, "I did mean those remarks, by the way." The flush on his face, which had been starting to fade, flared up again with a vengeance. "We are going to have to occasionally kiss and share the bed. Is that something you can handle?" 

Cloud suddenly found himself pressed against the floor, hair starting to come undone as someone rattled at the room's entrance. He leaned up, brushed his thumb over Sephiroth's cheekbone and let out a startled squeak as his face was pressed to a rather firm chest. 

"Do you think it _**wise**_ to interrupt, High Councilor?" The questioning rumble, pressed as he was against the man's skin, was a thread away from a threatening growl. 

High Councilor Hojo. 

Cloud shuddered minutely in Sephiroth's grip; he'd heard of the man and none of it was good. 

"He offers a sincere apology, Imperial Majesty, but needs to know if the choice is in any way an assassin." Cloud's lips unconsciously lifted into a snarl at the way High Councilor Hojo spoke to Sephiroth, the drip of sycophantic subservience grinding the wrong way. 

"No need, this one saved my life a few moons ago. Leave us." 

"As His Imperial Majesty commands," the oil-slick voice disappeared with a snap of the door. 

"Are you alright?" 

"I... I think so. How do you stand him?" Cloud asked, hyper-aware of the way they were still pressed together. 

"He was Court Advisor to my Father before he became ill." Sephiroth sighed, removing the protective curve of his arm from around Cloud. "You didn't get to answer me." 

"I, umm," He licked at his lips, a brief flick that made him self-conscious as he replied, "wouldn't mind." 

"May I?" 

"Yes." Cloud breathed out, followed the direction Sephiroth's hand guided him with and was met with a kiss that bordered on tender. His hands fisted into the fabric under the feathers, fingers kneading like a cat as his Emperor seemed to want everything he was willing to give. 

Between one inhale and the next, Cloud found himself bereft of the warmth and a hand offered to pull him up. 

He might murder Zack after all; he hadn't mentioned that Sephiroth was truly an Emperor that ruled the loyalty of both head and heart. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


End file.
